A devastating accident between a dump truck and a school bus has sparked what is expected to be a year-long investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. The fatal accident happened in Burlington County, where one family in Chesterfield is grieving the tragic loss of an 11-year-old triplet.
The little girl’s two sisters and an 11-year-old boy were also critically injured in the crash. The driver of the bus and the driver of the truck both received minor injuries, as did 14 other elementary-school students.
Federal investigators were expected to remain at the scene for several days to gather evidence. According to an NTSB official, there are questions about the safety measures taken on the bus. Specifically, the federal probe is interested in whether the children were required to wear seatbelts.
There were 25 children on the school bus when it was hit by the dump truck. The truck collided with the bus on the driver’s side, and the collision propelled the bus off the road and into a utility pole.
The driver of the bus is a 66-year-old man from Beverly, and the truck driver is a 38-year-old man from New Egypt. Neither man had been charged with a crime as of Feb. 19, though the results from sobriety tests were still pending.
It was reported that the truck driver’s license was suspended for reckless driving in 2003. The license was restored the following year, and since then, he has reportedly had a clean driving record.
Who was at fault in the crash remains to be seen, and the grieving families of the victims are surely looking for answers in this time of immense loss.
Source: Philly.com, “NTSB investigating the deadly Burlington County crash of a school bus and truck,” Edward Colimore and Reity O’Brien, Feb. 19, 2012